Reading6 - 0Peterborough

Alex Pearce scored the first when he headed in from a corner and Gylfi Sigurdsson made it two with a penalty.

Jobi McAnuff beat the offside trap to run in and make it 3-0 before Jimmy Kebe latched on to Andy Griffin's lofted pass and finished clinically.

Sigurdsson then played in Shane Long to plant a shot into the corner for 5-0 and Sigurdsson wrapped up the win when he taped in a rebound from close range.

Reading were full of confidence and took just three minutes to open the scoring when Brian Howard curled in a corner from the right-hand side and Pearce got ahead of his marker to thump in a powerful header from close range.

Sigurdsson then saw a low shot well saved by Joe Lewis in the Peterborough goal as the Royals pushed on for a second before Lewis clawed out a looping effort from McAnuff.

Pearce should have doubled the lead when he headed a free-kick wide from close range and Johnson had seen enough, replacing Exodus Geohaghon after just 16 hapless minutes.

But Brian McDermott's home side did grab their second in the 25th minute through the ice-cool Sigurdsson. Ryan Bertrand was tripped in the area by Craig Morgan and Sigurdsson made no mistake to notch his 17th goal of the season.

Reading were strolling to victory and made it 3-0 in the 29th minute when Sigurdsson unlocked the offside trap with a clever pass over the top and McAnuff ran through to convert.

Posh boss Gary Johnson made his second change, hauling off Gabriel Zakuani in a desperate attempt to stem the tide, but the Royals still found a fourth before the break.

Again a long ball was good enough to beat the Posh backline as Andy Griffin lofted one over the top for Kebe to latch on to and provide a clinical finish beyond Lewis.

McAnuff and Bertrand both shot wide from 20 yards at the start of the second half before Long got in on the act.

The excellent Sigurdsson was the architect, rolling a perfect through ball for Long to accelerate away from the defence and plant a shot into the corner.

Sigurdsson made it 18 for the season with his second in the 76th minute. Griffin made a mazy run down the right and squared across the area. Long should have scored but somehow hit the bar from close range and Sigurdsson was on hand to tap in a simple finish.

Reading manager Brian McDermott: "Some of the football we played from the back was terrific and it was at a tempo.

"We kept it up in the second half because the boys were enjoying the game and trying to keep a clean sheet.

"We created a lot of chances. Their keeper pulled off a couple of good saves. It's tough for a team like that when they are already relegated."

Peterborough manager Gary Johnson: "They scored six and could have had ten. We got well and truly trounced and the lads are down about it.

"They are working hard in training but when it comes to games they seem to have lost their Championship ability.

"We weren't good enough at either end of the pitch. It was a poor performance all round."

Live text and stats

Saturday, 17 April 2010

Championship

Home Team

Score

Away Team

Time

Reading

6-0

Peterborough

FT

(HT 4-0)

Pearce 3

Sigurdsson (pen) 25

McAnuff 29

Kebe 44

Long 59

Sigurdsson 76

Reading

01 Federici

24 Bertrand

26 Pearce

40 Griffin

44 Khizanishvili (Gunnarsson 69)

07 Tabb (Karacan 77)

11 McAnuff (Henry 62)

14 Kebe

25 Sigurdsson yellow card

34 Howard

09 Long

Substitutes

21 Hamer,

06 Gunnarsson,

17 Henry,

19 Robson-Kanu,

20 Karacan,

18 Church,

23 Rasiak

Peterborough

01 Lewis

04 Morgan

05 Zakuani (Simpson 30)

16 Little (Green 85)

29 Bennett

30 Griffiths

34 Geohaghan (Mills 16)

06 Lee

08 Frecklington

14 Rowe

12 Mackail-Smith

Substitutes

13 McKeown,

25 Green,

27 Romone McCrae,

33 Simpson,

20 Wright,

26 Mills,

28 Appiah

Ref: BoyesonAtt: 15,982

READING

PETERBOROUGH

Possession

Reading67%

Peterborough33%

Attempts on target

Reading13

Peterborough0

Attempts off target

Reading11

Peterborough3

Corners

Reading15

Peterborough2

Fouls

Reading6

Peterborough13

Final Result

Full Time

90:00+3:33 The referee brings the game to a close.

90:00+2:34 Corner taken by Brian Howard from the right by-line to the near post, clearance by Danny Mills.

15:00 The referee gives a free kick against Lee Frecklington for handball. The ball is sent over by Gylfi Sigurdsson, Alex Pearce
produces a header from deep inside the six-yard box which goes wide of the right-hand post.

13:23 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Brian Howard from the right by-line, Gabriel Zakuani manages to make a clearance.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.